Spirit Warrior (12 page)

“There is one thing you forgot about, Allie,” Jacob replied with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Yeah, what’s that?” She asked in a tight, wary voice. “That all guys are assholes?”

“No,” Jacob whispered as he reached for her. “That you are no longer in your time, but mine.”

Allie jerked in shock as Jacob pulled her out of her saddle and onto his lap. What shocked her even more was how quickly he not only did that, but wrapped a line of rope around her wrists as if she was a calf in a rodeo.

“Let me go!” Allie demanded as she struggled to get her hands free. “Damn it! Indy! Help me!”

“Jonathan,” Indy started to say.

Allie glanced over Jacob’s shoulder as Jonathan swept Indy out of her saddle and onto the front of his horse as well. Betrayal, hurt, and rage mixed as she saw the guilt reflected in Indy’s eyes. Her best friend had sold her out.

Tears glittered briefly in Allie’s eyes before she allowed all the pain and anger that she had bottled up for the last year to boil over. This is what she wanted to avoid. All she had wanted was a couple weeks to get her life back in order. Two weeks to think about what she wanted to do and where she was going. Hell, just a chance to find out who she was.

She had already made plans on how she could avoid Jacob. A ranch was a big place. It wasn’t hard to get lost during the days and at night she could disappear into her bedroom. She would have been the perfect guest, seen on occasion, seldom heard, and vanishing for most of the time.

“I hate you,” Allie hissed, struggling against the strong arms holding her. “How could she? Do you really think I believe any of this? That I’m suddenly back in time? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?”

“Ridiculous or not, it is the truth, Allie. The sooner you realize that, the safer it will be for you,” Jacob countered.

“How could something like that even be possible?” Allie scoffed as she wrung her hands in an effort to loosen the rope. “Ouch!”

“Stop it before you hurt yourself,” Jacob ordered. “When we traveled through Spirit Pass something happens. It is like a corridor between our worlds.”

Allie tilted her head backwards and glared at Jacob. “My dad would never have let me go through it if it did something like that,” she snapped. “He knows the history of our people and what happened to them.”

“Yes, he does,” Jacob replied in a quiet voice. “And he made sure that Jonathan and I knew as well before he agreed to let me bring you with me.”

“No!” Allie’s sharp cry of denial echoed in the air as she realized just how far the duplicity went.

The more she thought about it, the more she remembered her parent’s odd behavior before she left that morning just a few days ago. She remembered their worried look and there had been a sense of sadness in them. She hadn’t thought much of it with everything going on. Now, her mother’s words were coming back to haunt her.

“Never forget who you are in here. Be proud of who you are and where you come from and you will always be alright.”

Allie fingered the gold chain around her neck. Fury exploded out of her at the thought of being manipulated by her family. The people who she should have been able to trust above everyone else had lied to her. Renewed determination filled her as she made up her mind that she should have listened to her heart when it told her it was time to leave.

I should have just disappeared like Indy did,
she thought as she fought to get free from Jacob’s powerful embrace.

Jacob held the struggling figure firmly against his body. Allie was still cussing at him, but he could feel her body beginning to relax the further they rode. He had been terrified when he overheard Indy telling Allie about traveling through time. His first thought was that Allie might bolt back to Spirit Pass and try to return home.

He knew she thought she would only be here for a couple of weeks. He had planned to court her properly, but all thought of that went out of his mind with the realization she might not give him a chance. It was as if she had built a wall around her to hide behind. She had become more withdrawn since the morning she woke in his bed, and the last few days before they left, she had made it almost impossible for him to get close to her.

“I don’t know what you think you are doing, but you better let me go! When I get loose, I’m going to beat the crap out of you and leave your bloody corpse for the wolves,” she threatened in desperation.

Jacob chuckled as he jerked his head out of the way from the blow as she flung her head back. She wouldn’t even come close to hitting him in the face if he didn’t have her perky little body sitting snugly on his thighs.

It was only the second time he had really held her this close. The first time was after Chris’s death. His mind then had been on comforting her.

This time, his mind was totally focused on her. He realized that she was a little thing, but feisty as hell. Just like he knew she would be.

He loved the fire burning in her blue eyes. She had the same rich black hair as Sam, he realized, but everything else came straight from Claire.

“You have a very vivid imagination,” Jacob commented, before tightening his grip around her when she tried to kick out. “Don’t! Curse all you want, Allie, but don’t try anything stupid that could hurt either us or the horse. I thought more of you than that.”

“That’s what you get for thinking,” Allie snapped as she flushed at the admonishment. “Where are you taking me anyway? The ranch house is back that way. Better yet, Spirit Pass is that way!”

“I thought it would be best to take you somewhere, where we can get to know each other,” Jacob admitted as he touched his heels to the gelding’s side.

“You mean somewhere where no one can hear you scream once I get free and bust your balls?” Allie muttered as she realized that Jacob wasn’t joking about taking her away. Panicking, her mouth suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own. “I hope you never planned to have any kids. Because I have to tell you, by the time I get done, you’ll be able to apply for a job guarding a harem with no problem.”

Jacob bit back another laugh. His Allie had a wicked mouth on her that was proving as entertaining as it was frustrating. He had decided to take her to the little place he had built up in the mountains northwest of the ranch. It was a place where he could go when he needed somewhere to just think.

It wasn’t much, a little one room cabin built into the side of the mountain, but it would be perfect for what he needed. There was an abundance of wildlife and a fairly decent river nearby for fishing. The cabin was high and protected on three sides.

He had even opened up a place further back into the mountain where a natural cave system ran in case he needed to escape in a hurry. No one would be able to find the entrance and even if they did, it would take weeks to find their way through the dark tunnels without a map.

Yes,
he thought as he rubbed his fingers along Allie’s side.
All I need is a little time alone with her to show her how good living here can be. Then, maybe she won’t be so anxious to return to her metal wagons and flying carriages and her flameless lights. Maybe she’ll decide there is something here worth giving up all those things for. If not…
His thoughts closed down on the only other alternative.

*.*.*

Allie jerked away from Jacob as soon as her feet touched the ground. She stumbled, but regained her balance before he could touch her again. Her eyes swept over the rustic cabin built into the rock overhang before sweeping back the way they had come.

“Don’t,” Jacob said in a soft voice. “You wanted to disappear, Allie. I’m giving you what you wanted.”

“When I said that, I meant alone,” Allie retorted as she turned and watched him remove the saddle from the gelding. “Are you going to leave me tied up?”

She held up her tied wrists when he glanced at her. A low grunt escaped her when he turned back to what he was doing. Her lips twisted in satisfaction when she saw what looked like the handle of an ax sticking out from behind some wood piled by the door.

“So, this is the place you were telling me about?” She asked as she walked over to the door of the cabin. “No locks?”

Jacob looked up and smiled. “No people,” he commented. “This isn’t exactly easy to find. Besides, there isn’t much here that anyone would want.”

Allie just nodded and pushed open the door. The interior was very dark and it was hard to see what it looked like from the filtered light pouring through the door. She stepped inside and turned to the right. There were two windows, one on each side of the door.

Allie pushed the wooden bar locking the first window and opened it. The feel of something running over her foot pulled a startled scream out of her. She twisted, losing her balance and fell sideways knocking over a large pan.

“Allie!” Jacob called out as he burst through the door.

“I’m okay,” Allie said, as she pushed herself up against what looked like an old fashion bathtub. “Sorry, a rodent of some sort startled me as much as I startled it.”

*.*.*

Jacob scowled when he saw her try to push her hair out of her eyes. Pulling the knife from his boot, he walked over and motioned for her to raise her hands. He slid the blade between thin rope and sliced upward.

Bending to replace the blade, he took her wrist in his hand and rubbed on the faint red marks. His eyes connected with hers as he lifted her right wrist to his lips and pressed a kiss to the reddish line marring her skin. Her soft gasp echoed in the room as he did the same to her left.

“Jacob,” Allie murmured. “I… I can’t do this.”

“I’m just asking for time, Allie. I just want a little time to show you my world. It will also give you a little time to disappear,” Jacob whispered. “Two weeks. Please, just give me that.”

Allie drew in a deep, shaky breath. “What do you want from me?” She asked in a husky voice.

Jacob smiled and raised his hand to cup her cheeks. His eyes softened when he saw the fear and uncertainty in reflected in the clear blue depths. His smart-mouth, ball-bashing, hot tempered cowgirl was terrified.

“Just time,” Jacob murmured as he threaded his fingers into her hair and drew her closer. “I need to finish seeing to the horse and the supplies I have packed.”

Allie’s eyelashes fluttered as Jacob leaned forward. Her chin tilted back as she felt his hands slid from her hair. A frown creased her brow when he dropped a quick kiss on the end of her nose and pulled away.

“I’ll work on the inside,” she said as he took a step back.

“Thanks,” Jacob replied before he turned and walked out of the cabin.

Jacob refused to look back as he walked outside. Uncurling his fists, he made short work on securing the gelding in the covered stall he had added earlier in the year. He tilted his head and listened as Allie began to sing as she worked inside.

A soft chuckle escaped him when he heard some fresh curses escape her as she discovered some of the furry rodents who had taken up residences during his absence. Several ran out the front door, followed by a couple of his pans.

“Sorry,” she muttered as she bent to retrieve the battered pot. “I don’t mind mice and things, but not in the house.”

“No problem,” Jacob said. “I’m going to see if I can’t catch some fresh fish for dinner.”

“Okay,” Allie replied, looking back at the cabin with a grimace. “Take your time. This place is a mess.”

Jacob flushed, but grinned. “I wasn’t expecting any company.”

Allie raised her eyebrow. “I guess none of the widows have had the privilege of being kidnapped yet.”

The flush on Jacob’s face darkened. “Not likely,” he muttered. “I’ll be within hollering distance if you need me.”

“Go on, cowboy,” Allie snorted. “I’ve tackled worse and won.”

Jacob watched as Allie’s jean clad ass walked back into the cabin. He swallowed as he felt his body reacting to her ‘cowboy’. Turning, he raised his face to the sky and whispered a brief prayer that it didn’t take him long to convince Allie that this was the place for her.

*.*.*

Allie had stripped off her outer shirt and T-shirt after the first ten minutes. She was down to the sports bra she liked to wear when she was riding. She knew she was going to need a bath by the time she was done. She had picked up everything that could be taken out and deposited it outside the cabin.

Once the interior was fairly empty, she had set to work cleaning everything. The interior wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be overall. Fresh moss in the mattress would take care of the bed. Jacob had pulled the old stuffing out and rolled the covering for it up and placed it in a thick chest with what smelled like mothballs. That was the first thing that had been emptied.

She had draped the covering outside to air out, along with the blankets and clothing stored in the chest. Using a primitive broom, Allie swept the stone flooring as best as she could before deciding to tie an old, moth eaten shirt to the end of a stick so she could use it as a mop.

She found a wood-turn spigot up above the sink area. She had followed it to a small pool of fresh water that ran through a crack in the rock face outside. The water dripped down into a large pan. Jacob had designed a channel system so that he could access the water that ran into it. There was also an overflow spout that ran through the wall and outside as a drain. It was actually pretty ingenious and gave her a continuous supply of running water.

“Cold, running water,” Allie muttered as she squeezed the extra icy, cold water out of the shirt.

Soon, she had the inside reasonably clean. She gradually began moving things back inside, cleaning them as she went. The sun was beginning to set low in the sky and she made sure that the two lanterns that she had found had fuel and plenty of wick.

She found an old piece of broken mirror and hung it on the wall where the sun was shining through one of the windows. Aiming it, she used it as a way to brighten the interior. She was surprised by many of the things she had found. She suspected that each small item meant something special to Jacob.

Allie walked outside to gather some more wood for the fire. She glanced up when she heard Jacob’s low whistle. She straightened and put her hands on her hips.

“Please tell me you have food,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “I have to tell you, I’ve worked my ass off and I’m hungry.”

*.*.*

Jacob swallowed as he held up the fresh trout on the end of the line he had strung. His eyes swept over Allie as she straightened and he swore his stomach dropped to his feet just like it did in that damn moving coffin back in her time. He knew he was staring, but damn if he could help it.

He had hoped staying down at the river for a bit longer would help him cool down. Hell, he’d even taken a damn bath in the freezing water after he’d caught their dinner. It hadn’t helped much. He still couldn’t keep his mind from replaying holding Allie’s squirming body in his lap.

He had been lost in his thoughts as he came up the trail from the river. He hadn’t realized that she would be outside. He’d been trying to think of how he was going to make it through the night. He didn’t have a clue how he was going to be able to do that, much less make it through two weeks alone in the cabin with her. When he looked up and saw her dressed in the same type of top that Indy had been wearing, his heart had damn near jumped out of his chest.

For the first time, he understood his brother’s words when he said he would kill another man if he went near Indy. Jacob could feel the same primitive desire to protect his woman. The fact that she was standing scowling at him like he was a deranged idiot didn’t change the fact that he wanted her.

“I… Damn, Allie,” Jacob muttered. “Where’s your clothes?”

She rolled her eyes. “Since you didn’t let me bring my suitcase, I had to work with what I could. As it is, I’m going to be wearing a dust covered shirt to bed. The last thing I wanted was for all of my clothes to get filthy,” she stated, folding her arms across her chest and staring back at him. “Besides, I wear less when I go swimming at the beach.”

Jacob paled before his face flushed as he remembered what some of the women on the colored box on the wall were wearing at the ‘beach’. Or more likely, what they weren’t wearing. Just the thought of Allie in something like those little pieces of material sent his cock into full attention.

“Shit, Allie,” Jacob croaked out as he marched toward her with a dark scowl. “You’re killing me. You know that, don’t you?”

Allie chuckled and grinned. “You were the one that kidnapped me, cowboy,” Allie drawled. “You should have thought about it a little more before you did. Clean the fish. I’m heating some water. I hate cold baths,” she added as she picked up more firewood.